352: Taha'a: Was it an EPIC ride or an EPIC overdo? Our Cycling Expedition

There's an undeniable magic to our current anchorage in Taha, offering a front row seat to the breathtaking spectacle of Bora Bora. The iconic silhouette of Mount Otamanu dominates the horizon. It's jagged peaks, a constant majestic presence across the deep blue waters. The sunsets here are simply unparalleled, painting the sky with fiery oranges, soft purples and deep reds, all perfectly framed by Bora Bora's distinctive shape. Yet with this incredible vista comes a significant trade-off. While the view is unobstructed, so too is the exposure to the elements. There's virtually no wind protection, which means that an offshore storm can kick up uncomfortable conditions. We often find ourselves in a constant rock and roll with the boat pitching and rolling in the waves. While the calm moments allow for serene enjoyment of the scenery, the rougher periods can make even simple tasks a challenge. A constant reminder that paradise sometimes comes with its own unique set of discomforts. Wow, after two full days of crazy winds or a day and a half of crazy winds, we wake to some calmer seas, which is really nice. Devil winds are gone and things are back to normal, which is great. That was crazy for a while. We had a great time with our friends who came over from Yangon last night. That was really nice to see them. And they're crazy to have come over here in that wind. But they did. And we had a really nice evening. So that was great to get to see them before they leave today. Bon voyage! Merci! You're so welcome, you guys. Have a great trip. Bora Bora awaits. It's going to be perfect going there today. See you in Fiji, we hope. Wow, the sun is finally shining. We're allowed to use power. The captain was holding us back. We're getting some solar yield. We've got the bikes out and we are planning to go to town. We are going on the first of many bike rides here at Taha. There's a kind of upper lobe, which is super big. There's a cut through the middle and there's a lower lobe. Since we're really out of shape right now, we're going to do the lower lobe. I've heard that there's some mountain climbs on this. I'm hoping that's not the case. We're just going to do a nice leisurely get back, get the tush back in shape for the bicycles, get a good sweat going. Just check out the vibe here. The best thing that's happened today after yesterday being just rainy and cloudy with just like zero and huge wind, huge winds is it's really calmed down out here and we're starting to get lots of sun. I don't think we're going to totally fill up the batteries today. We may, but at least we can get it back up to 85, 90, which will be wonderful to come back out of the hole. Especially that way I can start using some electric appliances and and my water heater to take a hot shower. So anyway, bikes are out. We are going to be on our way. So I'm guessing we're going to have to go to that wall over there. Is this this is for the fuel. I'm thinking out there on that dock. That's my thought. I don't see any other dinghies in here. Thingy looks good. Bikes look good. Good job. The feel of Tahaa is very similar to Moraia and seems to be a lot less Lafayette people, a lot less industry so far. What a beautiful church and hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to come at half past ten for service. The last time I was here, that was one thing I remember was the cemetery plots right on the. Oh, you remember that land? Well, I don't know about this one in general. A little mini accident. I got a little too close to Brown's bike and thankfully didn't get hurt too badly. Had a little bit of a bruise on my shin. Unfortunately, broke that back fender. But it could have been a lot worse. Big Hill. We still have more to go, but doing pretty well here, considering we haven't ridden in forever. Wow, this is beautiful. We just got to the bottom of that huge hill and I just learned that to go back to the boat, we've got to go back up it. Oh, this is going to hurt. This is really going to hurt. So we decided to change our route instead of going around a smaller section and then having to ride or what would be really more realistic. Walk up that huge hill that we just came down. It's probably like five miles of hill. We are going to go around the top part of the island. It's a C road, so it'll be flat, which is good. But it is 20 miles. So this is going to be a pretty long ride for our first ride. Yeah, let's hope there's no hill on this, too. All right, well, that was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. We're walking. No shame in walking. I got to get to the top. So a sign for a sculptor. We're going to come see what he's working on. Yolanda! Like a bowl. Oh, yeah, right. Wow. He can make one of the things. Yeah, yeah. Do you have a show? Yes, yes, yes. OK. I'm a Marquesan. Oh, Marquesan? Let me do it. Yeah, yeah. Sculptor. Yeah, yeah. Tiki. Yes, Tiki family. Yes, yes. Marquesan. I don't know why they walk. Marquesan. Oh, yeah. Calville, Calville. Hakatao. Is that where we anchor? Yeah, Hakatao. Hakatao. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, we. Yeah, no, no. Allen. I'm Brian. Wow. Tiki stone, flower stone. Oh, wow. Wow, this is incredible. Wow. Look at the flower stone. Incredible. Wow, he was such a nice man, Albert. He's a he's actually from the Marquesas from Uapau, where we have been. And he does carvings, mainly tikis. This is copra, and it's basically the meat of the coconut. And it is drying. It smells really good. And as it dries in the sun, once it gets hard, they sell it. But every night and probably during rainy days, they put it under the shelf. Wow, we've hit the jackpot. Look at all this fruit. Oh, fantastic. Yeah, fantastic. OK, nice. OK, I'll take it in mine. Well, that was a fantastic stop. We have packed our backpacks with fruit, bananas, papayas, pineapple. And that's it. Oh, I'm Pomplamoose from Tahaa. And that cost twenty four hundred XPF, which is like twenty two bucks, I think. So not bad. Considering we're on an island in the middle of nowhere. I never would have expected to see kind bars here. That's crazy. A lot of American snacks. This place is huge. I'm actually really surprised. Cheeses, grated mozzarella even. Cream. Oh, they have my yogurt. Wow, this is a really good store. And look, they even have the advent calendar. Wait, what month is this? June? Yeah, some leftovers. It'll still be good. But I don't know. It'll still be good. Maria. This feels very Chinese. Wow, look at all the no added sugar, peanut butter, smooth. No, I mean, that's pretty. I'm really surprised for a store this out in the middle of nowhere. They even have Starbucks. All right. Advent. The advent calendar in July. June. OK, cool. Well, that was good to know. We just did a quick stop at this magazine, the Supermarche. Great stuff inside. Wow. We just don't have any room in our backpacks. This has to be very significant given that it's mile marker zero. That is definitely a creative use of a microwave. Look at that. The mail for this person, Dylan Silvan. That is hilarious. Top food. It is definitely not a French name, that's for sure. But they have what we're looking for. So very excited. We're stopped after 22 miles and four hours in the seat. What do you think about Paha so far? You know, it's different than Maria. It's just a little wilder here. The island's beautiful. Cycling is tough. Like this hill is pretty. I mean, Maria's got a couple of hills, but these are some big hills. There's less traffic. The prices are lower. It's off the beaten path. Glad we're out today and so good to be here. 20 years ago, or I should say in 2008, I had the vanilla sauce with fish for the first time. So it's really fun coming back here and eating this again. And it was really good. It's cooked differently. Normally the vanilla sauce is not in a separate container. Normally the fish is cooked in it. The fish is perfectly cooked. And wow, that's like a huge mountain of fries. Glad Brown's here to help me. All right, close them down. I'm so glad the wind is at our back right now. This is painful enough. I think we overdid it a little bit today. What do you think? Well, I've never been so happy to. We did bite off a lot. We kind of knew it and we did it anyway. Way too much. And then carrying 50 pounds of fruit probably was not the smartest. That's part of the Brown Council training program. A little too much is just enough. That was 28 miles, five hours in the saddle. Yeah, I was a.